The present embodiments relate to a method for time-resolved tomosynthesis imaging, by which a moving object may be imaged.
Radiation therapy is an established method, in which ionizing radiation is employed for treating pathological tissue such as, for example, tumor tissue. The aim of radiation therapy is to irradiate the tissue requiring treatment with a sufficient therapeutic dose while at the same time sparing surrounding healthy tissue. The therapeutic effect is based on ionizing radiation affecting healthy and pathological tissue differently.
Safety margins, by which the target volume is enlarged, may be employed to provide that uncertainties that, for various reasons, may occur between a planning and treatment phase in the positioning of the tissue requiring treatment will not jeopardize the treatment's success.
Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) enables the uncertainties in irradiating the target volume to be reduced. IGRT allows the visualization of the target volume, organs at risk (OAR), and surrounding healthy tissue before irradiating commences in order to irradiate the target volume more accurately and employ smaller safety margins.
Various imaging modalities have been proposed for IGRT. Imaging methods that take account of the motion/deformation resulting from, for example, breathing movement may also be employed for IGRT. Various four-dimensional (4D) approaches may be applied. The approaches may already be applied during the planning phase for more accurately identifying the target volume and organs at risk, but the approaches may also be applied immediately before an irradiating phase for identifying the limits of motion of the target volume and organs at risk.